Net benefits and true cost of owning a compressor.

[rjack321]

So where do you live? Compressors need room, ventilation, some way to exhaust heat, 220v power and make a lot of noise. Condo or Seattle city living won't work, you'll be up late pumping cause its not going to be a huge machine by default (so it'll be slow) and piss off the whole neighborhood. I would not get a gas powered compressor unless you actually need that portability and many small compressors can be converted from gas to electric in a couple hours (I've swapped mine back and forth a dozen times).

You need the oxyhacker book, your own O2 analyzer, and a CO analyzer factored into the costs too fyi.

I have made all my own gases 32%, 21/35, 50%, 18/45, 15/55 and 100% without a booster for 9 years. I only got a booster once I got a CCR. But 2000psi of O2 in an AL40 will cover many a dive

 

[kr2y5]

Yeah... noise is definitely among my top concerns. A house in north Seattle, friendly neighbors 20 feet away. Plenty of garage space, but if the noise cannot be effectively dampened, it is going to be a nonstarter. I'm guessing even if I make myself a soundproof box to enclose compressor in it, the noise will escape through the air inlet.

 

[clownfishsydney]

When I first got mine I lived in a semi-detached house (that is a large house split down the middle). Very small backyard, very close to three neighbours (within 10 m or so). I built a container for it, with a fan to blow cooler air in. We only ever ran during daylight hours, finishing before 5 pm. Never ran it if neighbours had a party or friends around. We never had a problem.

Running in a garage with doors closed should not be too bad, but if you fill more than four tanks, it will probably get too hot in there. We now have it under our present house, best option if you can as it is always cool and very soundproof for neighbours.

 

[nadwidny]

Yeah... noise is definitely among my top concerns. A house in north Seattle, friendly neighbors 20 feet away. Plenty of garage space, but if the noise cannot be effectively dampened, it is going to be a nonstarter. I'm guessing even if I make myself a soundproof box to enclose compressor in it, the noise will escape through the air inlet.

Put it in a box and then you'll be dealing with heat issues.

 

[100days-a-year]

Boats run compressors in holds and engine rooms so heat isn't that hard to deal with via fans or ducting,
Gas and diesel also require an inlet well removed from exhaust.

 

[rcontrera]

Yeah... noise is definitely among my top concerns. A house in north Seattle, friendly neighbors 20 feet away. Plenty of garage space, but if the noise cannot be effectively dampened, it is going to be a nonstarter. I'm guessing even if I make myself a soundproof box to enclose compressor in it, the noise will escape through the air inlet.

The little 1.8 CFM compressor that runs on standard household 110 VAC will run slower which translates to quieter and less heat. However, it can take up to an hour to fill your tank and only goes up to 3200 before it starts tripping your home breaker.

Oh ... and the sound insulation on a sound proof box is also heat insulation so you would have to add some sort of cooling/refrigeration and now we are just getting silly.

 

[Brandon]

I'm in a condo, and my compressor is in my garage with the intake plumbed through the wall with 2" pipe. When the insulated garage door is closed, you can barely hear it while standing directly outside, or even in my master bedroom which is directly above the garage. I often fill on weekend mornings while my wife is sleeping, and she doesn't notice. I limit fill hours to match the "quiet hours" of the HOA (8am-10pm) and both of my neighbors know to just come chat with me if they ever have a noise concern. It is loud enough inside the garage that I tend to wear ear protection.

With regard to heat - yes, the compressor puts out plenty of it. I have a one car garage, and it's easy to warm it from 70F to 85F after a couple hours of running. I just open the door if it gets too warm for comfort (for me, that's about 80F because I'm a warm weather wuss!).

 

[rddvet]

It is easier to do PP filling when you are a very small operation. .

Do what now? In what world is pp blending any easier than using a stick? Other than building the stick it doesn't get any easier.
I'd love an explanation of this because it makes no sense to me. When you use a stick, you do a Ron Popeil, set it and forget it.

 

[rjack321]

Do what now? In what world is pp blending any easier than using a stick? Other than building the stick it doesn't get any easier.
I'd love an explanation of this because it makes no sense to me. When you use a stick, you do a Ron Popeil, set it and forget it.

Agree - blending 32% with a stick is as simple as dirt. Uses up every last liter of O2 in the tank and there's zero math or messed up mixes.

 

[NAM001]

Do what now? In what world is pp blending any easier than using a stick? Other than building the stick it doesn't get any easier.
I'd love an explanation of this because it makes no sense to me. When you use a stick, you do a Ron Popeil, set it and forget it.

Its a very simple concept. you put in x% O2 and you top off. No bunch of fancy regulators and flow meters, continuous sampling that you see in shops with lots of cash to invest in a quality CB system. Its not set it and forget it. Its not so portable either. Its great for banking nitrox. Its great for those that have constant supply presure of O2, but for a tank by tank fill PP is the fastest and least expensive way to do it. Yes you can pump the O2 tank dry and not waste cash on refilling partial filled O2 tanks. Even the small shop that used to function in my area attempted CB filling. NO its not just a stick and a hose coming form an O2 tank. The output had a regulator on it to provide air to a flow meter to provide gas to the O2 sampler. Seldom was the fo2 measured on the rig the same as in the tank an hour later after it cooled. Of course yo can get the automatic regulators that adjust the O2 feed. And that is pretty well set and forget it, but only after lots of money is invested. If you are filling for your self. Its really just too expensive to do it with out constant monitoring of the process on the cheap. If one had 2k cuft of storage then it would be worth the CB filling method. And then o have to have an O2 shut off to insure you dont dump your O2 after the compressor stops sucking. No really expensive to put in but another one of many expences required to set up an automatic CB fill system. but then again in a small operation you would sit there all day waiting for the cascade to fill. Can it be done , YES, can it be done easily NO. Can it be done cheaply? NO Is it easy once you get it working YES. Is it worth it to fill your own 2-4 tanks every other weekend? NO. What is fail safe is that you know if you put in 25% O2 and top off you get 40% nitrox. I dont have to adjust the system to make it, cause im not making anything but air adn using it to top off with.

You can make a chart of O2 for a mix per hundred # of gas or as i do i do it in my head. 2500 # of nitrox 32 thats 800 O2 adn 1700 N2. .2/10 of 1700 is the O2 that is with the N2 from theh air. Then 800 - 340 is the Psi of O2 tp put in the tank and then top off. Or you just know that you need 18-19% O2 to mis nitrox 32. You can cut is a bit easier and say 20% of 2400 psi (2500-100) and find out the O2 amount to fill with O2 prior to top off. No matter how you do it,,,,,, it is easier than CB for a small operation wehn it comes to cost of building the set up that does not require constant monitoring. This is not to say that there is not definate benefits to CB blending, There is. Think about the amount of waste of O2 you have when PP blending compared to the cost of bullding the system.